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Post by Junkenstein on Jan 4, 2012 13:14:04 GMT -5
Admittedly I've only seen a few episodes of HIMYM, but most of my friends watch it and it's certainly way more popular over here than Seinfeld ever was. HIMYM seems like a far more conventional sitcom, even with it's more absurd moments.
Not to mention the writing is nowhere near as smart as Seinfeld. The brilliance of Seinfeld IMO was that it had the silly moments, but there was always that darker undercurrent running through it thanks to Larry David and Larry Charles' involvement. From what I've seen, HIMYM is missing that element.
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Post by wcw on Jan 4, 2012 13:14:17 GMT -5
I love HIMYM, now is it a ground breaking show? No not really, everything HIMYM has done has probably been done before in sitcoms. But what I like about the show is that it isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. It is basically a standard sitcom with really good characters (And one great one in Barney). Too many shows try to be too cool for the room and it comes off as lame. HIMYM basically just takes the standard sitcom and has fun with it, even if its a bit conventional.
I think Seinfeld isn't a good comparison. Seinfeld was a very innovative show, even if I think its very overrated its still a show that changed TV. Friends is a much better comparison. Although I think it will have much more lasting power then Friends did. As Friends is a show that hasn't aged well and peaked at the end of season 4. HIMYM (Only watching it on DVD so I am only up to season 6) has been good for 6 seasons which is a lot longer then Friends creatively had maintained its quality.
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Post by Metalheadbanger Man on Jan 4, 2012 14:27:13 GMT -5
For me Friends starting going downhill after Monica and Chandler got together. After that each character starting becoming grdually more....pathetic, to put it bluntly.
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Jan 4, 2012 14:48:02 GMT -5
It's scary how few years it takes to be a "generation", anymore.
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Post by Stu on Jan 4, 2012 15:12:10 GMT -5
Until a sitcom gets super bowl ratings upon the airing of it's finally episode, nothing will be like Seinfeld. That's not totally inaccurate, actually. I remember the Seinfeld finale being hyped up as competition to the final Mash, "Who Shot JR," etc. I don't think any finale since Seinfeld's has had as much potential impact and viewership. For me Friends starting going downhill after Monica and Chandler got together. After that each character starting becoming grdually more....pathetic, to put it bluntly. And that's another thing that makes HIMYM so strong. Since the story is about a group of friends growing up, the writers specifically focus on character development. The maturity and evolution of Ted and crew is important to the plot, because it's all what ultimately leads us to meeting the mother. In the case of Friends, the writers weren't exactly working toward a specific goal and just moved in whichever direction seemed appropriate at the time.I'm not saying they didn't plan out their episodes long in advance, but there was never that single theme from the first episode that drove Friends and kept them on track.
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Post by FUNK_US/BRODUS on Jan 4, 2012 16:15:02 GMT -5
For me Friends starting going downhill after Monica and Chandler got together. After that each character starting becoming grdually more....pathetic, to put it bluntly. Yeah, the writing for the show became very basic, lacked any sense of subtlety, was overacted at times, and just lacked what made seasons 1-4 amazing TV.
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Post by Danimal on Jan 5, 2012 1:36:22 GMT -5
Its really Friends for the generation after Friends. I love both, but I identify a lot more with the HIMYM characters. This, HIMYM is definitely more Friends-like. Seinfeld was very quirky for being such a huge hit. Sunny has more of a similar tone, I understand those comparisons. I'd say Big Bang is kind of this generation's Seinfeld in that it's a very quirky show that happened to really catch-on.
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Jan 5, 2012 7:47:26 GMT -5
For me Friends starting going downhill after Monica and Chandler got together. After that each character starting becoming grdually more....pathetic, to put it bluntly. It's because the writers just got really lazy. They took every characters quirks and amped them up by about 1,000. Joey and Ross were peticularly bad as the show went on. Joey went from somewhat dim, yet sweet, to having the mental capacity of a 7 year old. And I have a theory that the writers had a "Who can make Ross look more like a total ass" contest at the beginning of every season following the Emily fiasco.
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Post by AFN: Judge Shred on Jan 5, 2012 13:06:06 GMT -5
That is exactly what they are doing on Big Bang too, and it is driving me nuts. Raj especially has devolved and is becoming very unlikable.
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Post by Cela on Jan 5, 2012 13:55:48 GMT -5
Until a sitcom gets super bowl ratings upon the airing of it's finally episode, nothing will be like Seinfeld. That's not totally inaccurate, actually. I remember the Seinfeld finale being hyped up as competition to the final Mash, "Who Shot JR," etc. I don't think any finale since Seinfeld's has had as much potential impact and viewership. For me Friends starting going downhill after Monica and Chandler got together. After that each character starting becoming grdually more....pathetic, to put it bluntly. And that's another thing that makes HIMYM so strong. Since the story is about a group of friends growing up, the writers specifically focus on character development. The maturity and evolution of Ted and crew is important to the plot, because it's all what ultimately leads us to meeting the mother. In the case of Friends, the writers weren't exactly working toward a specific goal and just moved in whichever direction seemed appropriate at the time.I'm not saying they didn't plan out their episodes long in advance, but there was never that single theme from the first episode that drove Friends and kept them on track. Wait, character development? How has Ted changed at all since the beginning?
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Post by FUNK_US/BRODUS on Jan 5, 2012 14:44:25 GMT -5
That's not totally inaccurate, actually. I remember the Seinfeld finale being hyped up as competition to the final Mash, "Who Shot JR," etc. I don't think any finale since Seinfeld's has had as much potential impact and viewership. And that's another thing that makes HIMYM so strong. Since the story is about a group of friends growing up, the writers specifically focus on character development. The maturity and evolution of Ted and crew is important to the plot, because it's all what ultimately leads us to meeting the mother. In the case of Friends, the writers weren't exactly working toward a specific goal and just moved in whichever direction seemed appropriate at the time.I'm not saying they didn't plan out their episodes long in advance, but there was never that single theme from the first episode that drove Friends and kept them on track. Wait, character development? How has Ted changed at all since the beginning? Is that a serious question? He is a completely different character in seasons 2 and 3 alone.
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Ben Wyatt
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I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Jan 5, 2012 14:50:11 GMT -5
That is exactly what they are doing on Big Bang too, and it is driving me nuts. Raj especially has devolved and is becoming very unlikable. Oh, I know. Dont get me started on that.....
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Post by Cela on Jan 5, 2012 14:55:13 GMT -5
Wait, character development? How has Ted changed at all since the beginning? Is that a serious question? He is a completely different character in seasons 2 and 3 alone. He's still tunnel visioned when it comes to love, still obnoxious about his intelligence, still thinks he's always right, and still annoyingly quirky.
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Post by Stu on Jan 5, 2012 14:58:07 GMT -5
Wait, character development? How has Ted changed at all since the beginning? Is that a serious question? He is a completely different character in seasons 2 and 3 alone. Yes. The main problem with Ted is that the focus has shifted away from him. However, as someone here or in another forum (can't remember which) pointed out, it all may be necessary. One of the theories out there is that Ted eventually marries Barney's sister, who we will likely meet at Barney's wedding. So theoretically, the only way Ted's story can wrap up is if Barney's own tale finishes first. Thus, the latter's love story needs closure first.
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Post by wcw on Jan 5, 2012 18:26:56 GMT -5
Is that a serious question? He is a completely different character in seasons 2 and 3 alone. He's still tunnel visioned when it comes to love, still obnoxious about his intelligence, still thinks he's always right, and still annoyingly quirky. I went from liking Ted Mosby in season's 1 and 2 thinking that he was a good dude, and that yeah you go find that girl. During season 3 I started to dislike the guy. By season 4 I hate the guy. Its weird that for a show I love, I honestly hate the main character. For me Ted is pretty much just a vehicle to get the plots going. Barney, Robin, and Marshall are such good characters that it doesn't really matter if I hate Ted and can take or leave Lilly. I also think they do a good job with the lesser characters like Wendy the waitress, Ranjeet, and Carl from the bar. But in the end I think that as much as I hate Ted its more so a symptom of the show's convention. For 7 seasons they have teased meeting the mother (And there is no guarantee its going to happen at the end of season 7). That's 7 years of crap happening to Ted. They had to find ways for him to fall in and out of love. They had to stretch out the story beyond any reasonable time frame in order to make the show last longer (Not blaming them its a business). So for Ted his character has to kind of suck in order to keep the story going. But hey Barney's awesome, Marshall is loveable, and Robin is awesome too.
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Post by wcw on Jan 5, 2012 18:34:10 GMT -5
Is that a serious question? He is a completely different character in seasons 2 and 3 alone. Yes. The main problem with Ted is that the focus has shifted away from him. However, as someone here or in another forum (can't remember which) pointed out, it all may be necessary. One of the theories out there is that Ted eventually marries Barney's sister, who we will likely meet at Barney's wedding. So theoretically, the only way Ted's story can wrap up is if Barney's own tale finishes first. Thus, the latter's love story needs closure first. I honestly feel (Without seeing season 7 as I can only watch this show on DVD) that season 7 will be the last really good season for HIMYM. I feel its at a point where it can't really be about Ted's quest to find the mother any longer (He has to find the mother it can't just go on and on). Then if you make it about Barney you take away what makes Barney so great and that's the fact that he isn't the main character. See Ted makes it so that Barney can pick and choose his spots. They don't have to "Force" Barney so to speak. But if they make it the Barney Stinson show then they kind of have to "Force" Barney. Its a catch 22. But I still think that the writing is good and clever enough the show can be enjoyable even if its jumped the shark so to speak.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Jan 5, 2012 18:50:32 GMT -5
Marshall's the best character on the show.
I still like Ted though, but he's definitely the weakest even though it's 'his' story. Though since about the second season it's been more of an ensemble piece anyway.
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Post by Cam on Jan 5, 2012 19:06:25 GMT -5
Am I the only one who likes Ted Mosby?
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Jan 5, 2012 20:16:13 GMT -5
Am I the only one who likes Ted Mosby? No I like him; he's just the least likable of the characters, which is weird since he's the 'main guy'.
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Post by wcw on Jan 6, 2012 0:14:02 GMT -5
Am I the only one who likes Ted Mosby? No I like him; he's just the least likable of the characters, which is weird since he's the 'main guy'. Scrubs and HIMYM are the two shows where they have managed to turn me against their main characters. It took HIMYM till season 3 and Scrubs till season 5.
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